Tagaryū Shōji
| Tagaryū Shōji | |
|---|---|
| 多賀竜 昇司 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 黒谷 昇 Noboru Kurotani February 15, 1958 Ibaraki, Japan |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 142 kg (313 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Kagamiyama |
| Record | 561-621-10 |
| Debut | March, 1974 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (November, 1983) |
| Retired | May, 1991 |
| Championships | 1 (Makuuchi) 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) 1 (Sandanme) |
| Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (1) Technique (1) |
| Gold Stars | 1 (Kitanoumi) |
| * Up to date as of June 2007. | |
Tagaryū Shōji (Japanese: 多賀竜 昇司, born February 15, 1958) is a former sumo wrestler from Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. The highest rank he reached was sekiwake. In 1984 he won a top division yūshō or tournament championship from the maegashira ranking. He is now a sumo coach and head of the Kagamiyama stable.
Tagaryu made his professional debut in March 1974. It took him seven years to make the sekitori ranks, his promotion to the second highest jūryō division coming in January 1981. He reached the top makuuchi division in May 1982. He made his san'yaku debut at sekiwake rank in November 1983 but lasted only one tournament there and fell back to the maegashira ranks.
At the September 1984 tournament, the last to be held at the Kuramae Kokugikan, Tagaryū was ranked maegashira 12 and knew that another make-koshi would leave him in danger of demotion from makuuchi altogether. Tagaryū started excellently, and the end of the middle day saw him the only wrestler with an eight-win clean sheet. Ōzeki Wakashimazu, who had won the previous tournament 15-0, had only lost one bout thus far. Tagaryū lost to maegashira Tochitsurugi on the ninth day. Wakashimazu lost to Konishiki on the eleventh day, leaving him with two losses. The penultimate day saw Tagaryū, with one loss, drawn against Wakashimazu with two. Tagaryū defeated the ōzeki by yoritaoshi, eliminating him from the title race. Tagaryū now stood on 13-1, one win ahead of Konishiki on 12-2. When Konishiki fell to Kotokaze on the final day, Tagaryū's subsequent loss to Asashio was immaterial. With thirteen wins and two losses, he was the tournament champion. He was the first winner from the maegashira ranks since Kaiketsu in 1976. In addition to the Emperor's Cup, he was awarded the Technique Prize and the Fighting Spirit Prize.
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